Divorce in England and Wales

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  • Adultery
  • Unreasonable behaviour
  • Desertion (two years)
  • Separation, agreed divorce (two years)
  • Separation, contested divorce (five years)





The Matrimonial Causes Act 1857 moved litigation from the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical courts to the civil courts, establishing a model of marriage based on contract rather than sacrament and widening the availability of divorce beyond those who could afford to bring proceedings for annulment or to promote a private Bill. The Matrimonial Causes Act 1923 provided for adultery as sole ground for either husband and wife, not just the husband. Prior to this women had to prove additional fault.[3]

The Matrimonial Causes Act 1937 made divorce easier to access, particularly for women, who until then could not get a divorce merely on grounds of adultery, as men could: women needed to show more causes than adultery, such as incest, sodomy, or cruelty. The need for the reforms was illustrated in the best-selling satirical novel Holy Deadlock (1934).

The Divorce Reform Act 1969 marked a significant change in that people could end marriages that had "irretrievably broken down" without having to prove fault.[4] They could end marriages after separation of two years, if both parties desired divorce, or five years if only one party desired divorce.[5]

The Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 provided that a marriage had to have lasted for three years before a divorce could be applied for; the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984[6] reduced this period to one year.[7]


Relevant laws are:

The ground for divorce[edit]



  1. Adultery
    • often now considered the 'nice' divorce.
  2. Unreasonable behaviour (most common ground for divorce today).[9]
  3. Two years separation (if both parties consent)
    • both parties must consent
  4. Two years desertion
  5. Five years separation (if only one party consents)

Uncontested divorce procedure[edit]


  2. Documents issued by Court and posted to the Respondent


See also[edit]


  3. ^ UK Parliament 2019.
  4. ^ "A brief history of divorce". The Guardian. 2009-09-18. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-09-06.
  5. ^ Cretney, Stephen (2005-01-27). Irretrievable Breakdown as the Ground for Divorce: The Divorce Reform Act 1969. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199280919.001.0001/acprof-9780199280919-chapter-9. ISBN 9780191713170.
  6. ^ Participation, Expert. "Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
  7. ^ Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984, Section 1 at legislation.gov.uk
  8. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-08-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ http://www.lawpack.co.uk/separation-and-divorce/articles/article925.asp]
  11. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20090826110559/http://www.terry.co.uk/divorce1.html
  12. ^ "UK Divorce Process Guide | Acclaimed Family Law". www.acclaimedfamilylaw.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-05-04.

External links[edit]